Christian Klien has spoken out about the latest developments on the F1 driver market and on his official website and explained why driver announcements are taking a little longer than usual this year with thirteen available seats left on the 2010 grid after the official announcement of former Williams racer Nico Rosberg to Mercedes (formerly known as Brawn GP) yesterday and he is still holding out a realistic chance of joining the action when the teams head to Bahrain in March next year....

There seem to be quite a few vacancies for 2010. At the moment there are 13 seats available, but only seven current F1 drivers on the market. How do you rate your chances of a race seat? 

This winter the situation is unique: F1 is in the process of being rebuilt. Existing teams are closing their doors and new ones join the field. For the first time, there is practically no testing between November and January. The regular drivers will not be in the car before February. As a consequence there is much less pressure for the teams on the drivers' side. For 2010 I still see a very realistic chance to be racing in F1.

You probably have a fairly good chance with Sauber/Qadbak, if the FIA officially approves their entry. According to your BMW contract you would have been promoted from test to race driver in 2010. Is this still the case now that BMW have departed?

Had BMW Sauber signed in for 2010 I would most likely have been guaranteed a race seat. As mentioned before, the successor has no official entry for 2010 yet. But everyone in Hinwil is working flat out on next year's race car. Having said that it seems clear that all decisions such as sponsorship deals and driver line-up cannot be announced before that matter is resolved. I am positive that the traditional Sauber team from Hinwil will be on the grid in Bahrain in 2010.

Peter Sauber seems to think quite highly of you. How frequently are you in contact with him?

I think I have become a fully integrated member of the Hinwil race team. I am in the factory on a weekly basis to follow the progress of developments together with the engineers. When I talk to Peter Sauber it always becomes clear how much personal effort he puts into the survival of his team. His passion for GP racing is still extremely high and he is a big motivator for everyone.

There were talks of contacts with the new teams Manor Racing and USF1. Are you maybe also negotiating with the new Lotus team, whose technical director Mike Gascoyne is a well known figure from the old Spyker days?

I was approached by several teams concerning a race drive during the season. The new teams are interested in drivers with F1 experience to speed up the development of their car.  In the meantime I have had a close look at everyone's progress and I have also checked with their engine partner Cosworth. The first season is going to be very tough for the new teams, but some definitely have the potential to go far in F1.

Are you still in talks with Peugeot? Will there be a third Le Mans race in 2010?

There is no decision yet on Peugeot's side if they will race at Le Mans and if so, how many cars they will bring. At the moment my focus is clearly on Formula One. Therefore I cannot commit myself in any way or form to other projects. Moreover, there is a clash of dates on the 13th of June with Le Mans and the Canadian Grand Prix.

In the first half of the season you did three races for Peugeot (5th in Sebring, win at Spa, sixth in Le Mans). In the second half there were none. How big is your desire to get back behind the wheel of a race car now?

The races with the Peugeot works team were fantastic and a great supplement to my F1 testing with the BMW Sauber F1 Team. In Le Mans we were simply unlucky that we lost the race through a pitlane accident of my team mate. But we could win the 1,000 km race of Spa. I did over 5,000 kms in five races and was on the podium three times: the win at Spa/BEL, second at the Petit Le Mans/USA and third at Le Mans in 2008. Still, my primary goal is to be on the F1 grid at the first race in Bahrain in 2010.